(Shawn Pogatchnik – Politico) Ireland will do “everything we can” to free an Irish citizen who has been confined for nearly five months in a U.S. detention camp in Texas, Prime Minister Micheál Martin vowed Tuesday. The high-profile case of Seamus Culleton — who was seized by agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in September as he left a Home Depot hardware store in Boston — is complicating Ireland’s hopes of keeping relations with Washington upbeat ahead of Martin’s planned St. Patrick’s Day visit next month. Ireland prizes its exceptional political access to the White House and Capitol Hill tied to the annual March 17 Irish national holiday, when the Irish leader typically presents his U.S. counterpart with warm words and a bowl of shamrock. The festivities have become diplomatic minefields in Trump’s era, however, given the contribution of U.S. multinationals to Ireland’s economic strength and record-breaking tax revenues — benefits that Trump has threatened to roll back.
Ireland pushing to free citizen held by ICE in Texas – POLITICO
